The Legend of Zelda: A Different Path
by Roxurworld
Summary: Link remains in Hyrule after his defeat over Ganondorf, forgoing his adventure to find his lost friend Navi. Falling in love, Link finds himself in an even greater adventure than he could possibly have ever imagined as a force stronger than even Ganondorf enters the realm.


It was a day not unlike many others on the ranch; bright with a blue sky, a light breeze rustling the lush, green grass and a dazzling yellow sun high up, bathing the peaceful land of Hyrule in its warm, protective glow; and it was just the way Link liked it.

Stretching his arms, Link adjusted his tan breeches and belt, tucking his forest green tunic back into his belt. His golden blond hair flew free today without his customary green hat to keep it tamed and it framed his youthful face perfectly, accentuating his blue eyes. Tall for his age, nearing six feet, Link wore clothes specially made for him by a dear, dear friend from the forest. It was the least she could so after all he had been through she would tell him when he asked her why she continued to make his clothes for him.

The young man, sixteen in a few days, had seen a lot in his relatively short life, overcoming many obstacles in his journey to save the land of Hyrule from evil's grasp. Travelling through time, Link had brought an end to the tyranny of the Gerudo King of Thieves, and later known King of Evil, Ganondorf and sealing him in the land between Hyrule and the Sacred Realm. But that was all in the past… But also the future… Link shook his head, getting to the confusing part.

He had gone forward in time to put an end to a man that he had then travelled back in time to destroy once more, but this time with evidence and not by the sword. Unsettled by his thoughts, Link took a deep breath and stood up, his break nearing its end.

"Hey fairy boy, come on back! We need you in here!" a young woman with fiery red hair yelled from the barn entrance, a loud bleat coming from inside. Mud covered her face, but her blue eyes shone brightly beneath it and a grin to match them soon followed. Dressed in light colored but rugged dress and a pair of word leather boots, she definitely looked the part of a farm girl.

"Coming, Malon!" Link called as he hustled back to the barn. As soon as he entered the barn a balding man cried out in warning. His reflexes sharpened through intense daily training, Link fell back before Talon had finished calling his warning and threw his arm forward, striking the charging goat in the side with his palm, not his fist. The stunned creature let out a weak bleat and wobbled a bit before falling onto its side, its eyes crossed and its tongue hanging out of its mouth strangely.

"Oh! Oh, Link! Did you kill the poor boy? You hit him so hard!" Malon squealed, dropping to the floor next to the poor goat, stroking its head.

"I didn't kill him! I swear! He should just be stunned! It didn't kill the cuccoo so I doubt it'd kill…" Link strayed off in his sentence as Malon shot him her all-too-often death glare and rose to her feet, her fists clenched and her teeth grinding.

"You… Were practicing on my cuccoo again…?" Malon growled through her clenched teeth.

"I-It was just this one last time… I had to be sure it would-" Link couldn't finish his sentence as Malon dove at him, tackling him to the ground. Rolling backwards with the force, Link rolled over his shoulders and landed on his feet, his arms wrapped under Malon's armpits and hands clamped behind her neck.

"Oh, you're so not fair! Just let me catch you once!" Malon whined, kicking her booted feet in the air. Nearly a foot taller than the five foot four girl, Link easily held her in the air, her feet just barely off the ground. Talon chuckled from the back on the barn, shaking his head at the two.

"Aw, but ain't I interrupting yer all's work. I was just trying to brand Ol' Barley there be he ain't having none of it I reckon. Go ahead and finish with the hay in here then y'all can run a milk shipment to the castle for me," Talon said cheerily, clapping Link on the shoulder as he passed the grappled teenagers. When the door to the barn shut and the two heard the door to the house do the same, Link flipped Malon around and guided her to the ground, leaning her up against a clean pile of hay. Without hesitating, he leaned forward and kissed her; a hard kiss full of teenage lust and passion. Malon returned the kiss equally, lightly clawing at the back on Link's neck.

"Eager, aren't you fairy boy…?" Malon whispered seductively into Link's ear, her hands, still soft even after a lifetime spent on the farm, tracing small circles behind his earlobe.

"Can you blame me?" he whispered back, nibbling at her neck. With a giggle, Malon pushed him away to arm's length.

"Wait until we're on the road to the Castle… I've thought of something new and it involves a bottle of milk…"

Their bodies glistening with sweat, and one covered in Lon Lon Milk as well, Link took Malon by the hand and lead their naked bodies to the large pool by the entrance to Zora's River, walking her slowly into the cold, refreshing water. Smiling, he pulled her close to him, smelling the remnant milk and hay in her hair.

"Stop, I bet it smells so bad!" she complained, pushing his face away. Link laughed and squeezed her tighter, the taut muscles in his finely toned arms rippling.

"No! Not at all. Those are two of my favorite smells; they both remind me of the ranch, which reminds me of you," Link kissed her on the cheek and she blushed, leaning into him.

"Oh, but wouldn't my dad be furious if he caught us now…" Malon joked, pulling away from Link and submerging completely in the waters. When she emerged, flipping her long, red hair back and out of her face, Link could only stare in awe at the beautiful young woman in front of him. Malon turned and saw him staring at her and crossed her arms across her bare chest, suddenly feeling very exposed.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something gross on me?" she asked, hardly pausing between each question. With a laugh, Link shook his head.

"No, dear, I simply can't comprehend how lucky I am to have found a love like yours."

"Oh, Link…"

The two embraced in the cool waters again, falling deep into another kiss until a loud cough broke them apart.

"You two are enough to make a girl sick, you know that?" a voice said from behind a boulder a little ways up the river. Pulling Malon behind him, Link covered his privates with one and placed the other over his eyes as a sun barrier to catch a better glimpse of their visitor.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Link demanded, wishing he had kept his short sword within arm's reach.

"Oh, relax, it's just me. And you can go ahead and uncover yourself, it's not like you're impressing anyone with anything anywho," from behind the boulder emerged a Zora female, a fishlike humanoid with finned appendages and a wide head, fit with two large eyes.

"R-Ruto! Don't scare me like that! And this water is cold, you know that!" Link sputtered, Malon emerging from behind him and giggling.

"Hi, Ruto! What brings you this far downstream?" Malon asked politely, swimming towards her good friend. Apparently unbothered by the Hylians nudity, Ruto smiled and swam towards Malon, briefly embracing her.

"Oh, father was being so boring today so I went for a swim to get away for a few hours. I saw a strange fish so I decided to follow it for a while to kill some time and it swam all the way out here then suddenly vanished! Then I came around the corner and I saw you two and decided to say hello," Ruto explained, swimming closer to Link. Blushing, one hand still covering his privates, Link swam away from Ruto, emerging from the cold waters and wrapping himself in one of the towels he had brought to the edge of the water.

"Yes, yes and now you've had your fun, making jokes at my expense, so what's keeping you here?" Link snapped, his cheeks flushing as the girls giggled at his reddened face. With an exasperated sigh, Link threw his hands up, dropping towel in the process, exposing his bare rear to the girls, causing them to laugh all the louder. Link snatched the towel back up and stormed off, wrapping it tightly around his waist and mumbling something about women. He came back a few moments later, dressed again in his tan breeches and forest green tunic, tightening his brown belt as he approached the water's edge.

"We really should get going though, Malon. Talon will start to worry if we don't get back soon and end up sending Ingo after us, and Nayru protect us all if he finds us lollygagging around," Link reached down to the water's edge and took Malon's hand, helping her up the slick slope and wrapping her in a warm towel.

"Yes, I'd better be getting back to father, too. Oh, how he worries about me… If only he knew the truth of it!" Ruto said, throwing a wink at Link. Link smiled at Ruto and gave a small wave as she disappeared back under the water, turning back to Malon. He sucked in a quick breath as she dropped her towel and bent to retrieve her clothes. Noticing Link wide-eyed and blushing she wiggled her hips and laughed, turning around and clutching her clothes to her chest.

"Calm down fairy boy; weren't you just telling me about how we need to hurry up?" Malon scolded, waving a finger at Link. He shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin.

"What can I say? Not even the crack of dawn shines as brightly in my eyes!" Link exclaimed, raising his arms in the air. A wet towel slapped him in the face and wrapped around his head, throwing him off balance and to the ground.

"I thought it was funny…" he muttered, scrambling to his feet as he heard Malon giggle. Nearly fully dressed again, only missing her travel cloak and worn leather boots, Malon climbed into the driver seat of the milk cart and looked down at Link.

"It was, now get in! We have to hurry!" Malon laughed, giving the reins a short flick and sending the two horses, Epona and Milana into an easy trot.

Grabbing the handle used to help passengers into the passenger seat of the cart, Link easily pulled himself into the passenger seat and leaned back, his feet on the dash and his hands behind his head. The two travelled in silence for a short while, content just in each others company as the sun dropped beneath the peaks of the mountains to the east. The glare of the sun gave the illusion that Kakariko Village, the village at the foot of Death Mountain, had been set aflame. Link leaped to his feet, nearly falling from the cart and screamed, drawing his blade. Malon brought the cart to a sharp halt and stood, grabbing Link by the arm.

"Link! What are you doing? What's wrong?" she asked, concern in her tone. Link stumbled backwards a few steps as the sun set fully, the illusion shattered. With Kakariko nothing more than a dark stain against the mountain, Link fell back into his seat breathing heavily.

"I just thought… I saw…" he gasped, his breath still coming in labored gasps. Malon reached into the back of the cart and grabbed a bottle of milk, popping the top off and handed it to Link who graciously took the bottle and drained it. Malon rubbed his shoulders, leaning her head on his.

"It's okay Link, it's okay…"

"I sure hope so Malon… I sure hope so."


End file.
